This invention relates to a timing and prompting device. More particularly, this invention relates to a device that alerts and prompts a user within its proximity that a period of time has passed to remind the user to perform a task, such as a breast self-examination.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, other than skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer. The American Cancer Society predicts there are several hundred thousand new cases of breast cancer each year with some forty thousand deaths resulting from the disease. Breast cancer also occurs in men, although much less often.
The earlier breast cancer is found, the better the chances for successful treatment. Because early breast cancer does not produce symptoms, it""s important for all women to follow the guidelines of the American Cancer Society for finding breast cancer early. These include the following:
1. A mammogram and a breast exam by a doctor or nurse (clinical breast examination) every year for women over the age of 40.
2. Between the ages of 20 and 39, women should have a clinical breast exam every 3 years.
3. All women over 20 should do breast self-examination (BSE) every month. Together, these methods offer the best chance of finding breast cancer early.
With the above in mind, when is the best time for a woman to do a breast self-examination? This is all dependent upon a woman""s menstrual cycle. The average woman""s cycle is 28 days. Day one of a woman""s menstrual cycle is the first day of menstrual bleeding. The end of the cycle is the first day prior to the beginning of the subsequent menstrual cycle. It is recommended by the medical community that a woman conduct a breast self-examination about one week after the start of the menstrual cycle or in other words days 6-14. A woman""s hormone levels are lower at this time causing the woman""s breasts to be less tender and less swollen. Accordingly, a woman will experience less discomfort when performing the self-examination during this time, and because of the reduced discomfort, a woman is more likely to perform a more thorough and complete exam on herself.
All menstrual cycles are not created equal. Women and their menstrual cycles or lack of menstrual cycles are categorized as provided below:
1. Women with xe2x80x9cregularxe2x80x9d or predictable menstrual cycles.
2. Women with xe2x80x9cirregularxe2x80x9d or unpredictable menstrual cycles. These women having sometimes no idea when the start of their next menstrual cycle might be.
3. Women using birth control pills or birth control patches. These women have menstrual cycles that are dictated by the hormones in the pills or patches. Typically, these women experience regular menstrual cycles that are 28 days in length.
4. Women that have no menstrual cycle. There are a variety of reasons why a woman will not have a menstrual cycle including, but not necessarily limited to, (i) having had a hysterectomy, (ii) having gone through menopause, (iii) participating in a hormone therapy, (iv) being pregnant, and (v) participating in vigorous or excessive exercise.
It is easy for a woman to forget to do her breast self-examination every month due to the everyday pressures of life. The prior art describes several products that can assist a woman in remembering to perform her examination. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,582 provides a waterproof tablet along with a grease pencil to record the results of a breast self-examination. Many health care professionals suggest that the breast self-examination be performed when the breasts are wet, such as when taking a shower or bath, because the water helps lubricate the skin and makes the examination easier to perform. Accordingly, the waterproof tablet can be used in a shower or bath. In addition to permitting the user to record examination results, the tablet includes a calendar to record the dates of her past examinations and serves as a visual reminder concerning when she should perform her next examination. Such a device is only useful if the woman can determine her next exam date on the provided calendar and is further prompted to perform the breast self-examination. Given the everyday stress and rigors of a busy lifestyle especially early in the morning when a woman typically bathes or showers, a woman may procrastinate and fail to record the necessary information, thereby defeating the purpose of the calendar included on the tablet. Subsequently, she may miss her opportunity to perform her breast self-examination.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,442 describes a device conceptually similar to the above tablet comprising a plurality of transparent overlays that a woman uses to record the location of any masses found in either of her breasts. Each overlay is placed against and attached to a writing board surface that is designed to be coupled to a shower door or wall. Spaces are provided to write down the dates of the woman""s menstrual cycle, as well as, the dates on which she performed a self-examination. Accordingly, the woman is provided with a visual reminder as to when to perform her next examination.
An electronic breast examination reminder device that displays a prompt after the passing of a predetermined time interval that can be utilized to remind a woman to perform a self-examination is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,753 and Des, 377,832 to Jacober et al. The device is water resistant for use in a shower or a bath. Once the time interval has passed, a light begins to flash for up to 24 hours after which time it ceases to flash and the term xe2x80x9cExamxe2x80x9d on a provided display flashes until the user indicates she has received the prompt to perform a breast self-examination. If the device is reset or deactivated by someone other than the intended woman, the intended woman may never be reminded to perform a breast examination. Accordingly, the type of prompt used by the device is rather benign comprising a small flashing LED and the term, xe2x80x9cExamxe2x80x9d displayed on the device""s LCD. This device requires less attention from a woman than the tablet type reminder devices described above as the woman only has to press a button to start the device at the beginning of her menstrual cycle, or after her last examination, and then press a second button to indicate to the device the breast examination has been performed. The one significant problem with this device is an intended user could conceivably miss the small light when it comes on because there is no audible alarm to catch the user""s attention.
In one preferred embodiment, a breast self-examination prompting device adapted to remind a user to perform a breast self-examination on a regular basis includes a housing and an electrical circuit at least partially contained within the housing. The electrical circuit comprises a proximity sensor adapted to detect the presence of a person such as the user within proximity of the device, an alarm, a controller, and first, second and third switches. The controller is adapted to measure first, second and third time intervals, control the operation of the device, and activate the alarm. Typically, the alarm is activated when both (i) the first time interval has expired and (ii) the presence of a person is detected by the proximity sensor within the second time interval. The controller begins to measure the second time interval after the first time interval has expired and the second time interval is shorter than the first time interval. The first switch is electrically coupled with the controller and is adapted to cause the controller to start the measuring of the first time interval. The second switch is also electrically coupled with the controller and is adapted to cause the controller to either or both (a) deactivate and disenable one or both the alarm and the proximity sensor; and (b) deactivate the device. Finally, the third switch is electrically coupled with the controller and is adapted to cause the controller to (a) deactivate the alarm and (b) temporarily disenable at least one of the alarm and the proximity sensor for the third time interval. The third time interval is shorter than the second time interval. If the third time interval expires before the expiration of the second time interval, one or both of the alarm and proximity sensor are re-enabled by the controller.
In another preferred embodiment, a prompting device for reminding a user to perform a task includes a detection means, a prompting means, and a first control means. The detection means is provided to sense a person within proximity of the device. The prompting means is provided to alert the person. The first timer means is provided to measure a first interval of time, and the first control means is provided to activate the prompting means after the first time interval has passed and the person is sensed within proximity of the device.
In another preferred embodiment, a prompting device includes a proximity sensor, an alarm, and a controller. The controller includes clock circuitry and control logic, and the controller is adapted to (i) measure a first interval of time, and (ii) activate the alarm if the presence of a person is detected by the proximity sensor after the first time interval has expired.
In yet another preferred embodiment, a method of operation of a prompting device comprises measuring a first time interval, sensing a person within proximity of the device, and activating an alarm after the first time interval has passed and the person is sensed within proximity of the device.
Numerous other embodiments and variations of the preferred embodiments are also contemplated as is provided in this specification including the appended claims and as would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.